It was to have been the world's largest statue -- a 152m Buddha on a giant throne, visible for hundreds of kilometers across the dusty Indian plains. But the designers of the towering Maitreya Buddha -- soon to be built in the holy city of Bodhgaya -- received a nasty shock last week when the Chinese revealed that they are to construct their own monster Buddha, which will be 2.7m higher.
In a gloating announcement, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said the Buddha will be built at Jiuhua mountain in Anhui Province. "It will be the largest statue of the Bodhisattava in the world when completed," the agency added.
The news has horrified Indian planners. They have been toiling away on their project since 1984, when a now dead Tibetan lama conceived the vision of building a giant statue at Bodhgaya. The northern Indian town in Bihar State is where Buddha gained enlightenment 2,500 years ago. It has been a place of Buddhist pilgrimage for centuries.
In a further demonstration of their supremacy, the Chinese have announced that their giant Buddha will be completed one year earlier -- and for less money. The Chinese estimate their 1,000-tonne, copper-plated Buddha of Compassion will cost a mere US$57 million.
This compares to the US$200 million projected for the bronze-encased Maitreya Buddha, or Buddha of the Future, due to be unveiled in 2005. The money for the Maitreya Buddha is being raised from the international Buddhist community, and -- it is rumored -- celebrity donors, including Hollywood star Richard Gere.
Marcel Bertels, the project's India director, on Saturday dismissed talk of Buddha Wars.
"We are really very happy. Our mission has always been to put out a very positive symbol. If other people want to make bigger statues, we are delighted," he said. "It has never been a race from our side."
Skeptics, though, have questioned the timing of China's move. It follows the embarrassing flight of the 15-year-old Karmapa -- one of Tibetan Buddhism's most senior leaders -- from Tibet to India. The Karmapa was granted asylum by India three months ago. He immediately set off on a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya and gave his blessing to the Maitreya site.
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